Pesticides blamed for killing bees may also affect birdlife

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The house sparrow population has fallen in Britain by almost three quartersRay Kennedy/PA

Oliver Moody

Last updated at 12:01AM, March 29 2013

Pesticides blamed for contributing to the devastation of Europe’s bees could
pose a much broader risk to birds and water-dwelling insects, according to a
new report.

The European Commission is struggling to ban three chemicals in the
neonicotinoid family until more is known about their links with a collapse
in populations of bees across the continent. Britain was among the countries
that abstained from a
vote earlier this month, with ministers citing the need for further
scientific evidence.

A new paper written by a former senior Canadian government scientist and an
environmental lawyer from the US claims that the chemicals

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House sparrow

The house sparrow is vulnerable to poisoning through seeds. The population has fallen in Britain by almost three quarters

Mallard

The ubiquitous duck fared worse than almost any other bird in the neonicotinoid tests. A tiny amount of imidacloprid can severely poison a mallard, and they take up to eight days to die

Grey partridge

Once seen all over the British countryside, the portly, ruddy-cheeked bird, left, has now been red- listed by the RSPB. A dose of as little as 5mg of imidacloprid brings the bird a 50:50 chance of death

Quail

Tests on bobwhites and Japanese quails indicate that neonicotinoids can incapacitate the birds even at very low concentrations

Southern damselfly

With its habitat and genetic diversity dwindling, the Sun-fixated insect is now found at only a handful of sites in Hampshire, Wales and Devon. Pesticide run-off could harm the species further